Nightmare
by GirlyGeek
Summary: Apollo has a horrible nightmare, and it falls to Anders to comfort him.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything pertaining to the Dragon Age franchise...unfortunately.

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**Nightmare**

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Anders was sleeping peacefully in the bed he and Apollo shared-his body sated and still thrumming with residual pleasure from their earlier lovemaking. Naked beneath the sheets, he was completely at ease as he slept with a small yet contented smile upon his lips as his golden tresses framed his head upon his pillow like a halo.

Anders had never slept naked until he had moved in with Apollo. It would have been impractical in the past with all the times he had been on the run-never belonging or feeling safe anywhere. Not even when he was with the Grey Wardens did he feel as though he belonged. He never felt at home with them.

Alona had tried so _very _hard to make him feel included when he passed his Joining. The scarlet-haired mage had been _so_ excited and overjoyed to be reunited with her friend after thinking him dead or worse, and for her sake, Anders had tried to _be_ one of the Wardens-to be part of the group in which his childhood friend had so flourished and blossomed.

And Alona _had _blossomed.

Free of her Circle prison and her Templar jailers, and now part of a healthy and _very_ loving relationship with a fellow Warden, Alona had blossomed from the quiet wallflower and into a confident woman who never seemed to stop smiling.

But for all his efforts to fit in, Anders always felt like an outsider. Alona had everything...freedom, love...the freedom _to_ love. Anders did not have that. He had his freedom, to be sure, but even as a Warden, his freedom felt only partial. Even though he had smashed his phylactory, the Templars still watched him because of all the trouble he had given them in the past. He was _never _truly free of them.

But all of that was in the past now. None of what he had endured and done before meeting Apollo mattered anymore. With Apollo, Anders finally had _everything_ he ever wanted. He had love, and he had a home. He _finally _felt like he belonged. He _finally_ felt safe. All Apollo had to do was wrap those powerful, sculpted arms around him, and Anders truly believed that nothing could ever hurt him again. In the bed he shared with Apollo, Anders _could_ sleep naked because he knew that no harm would come to him in this bed...in _their_ bed. No Templar would _dare_ storm Apollo's home..._their _home. Not after Apollo had saved the city. Champion of Kirkwall...the title could not have been more fitting. Apollo truly _was_ a champion-a protector to those who had nowhere else to turn.

Apollo...

The thought of his beloved caused Anders' eyes to flutter open, and he rolled onto his side to have his smile grow as he took in the sight of Apollo slumbering beside him. Propping himself up on one elbow, Anders simply gazed down at his lover as he so often did at night. Beautifully handsome, the sight of Apollo never failed to take Anders' breath away-the straightness of his nose, the highness of his cheekbones, the way the corners of his mouth always seemed to turn up into a small grin as though he alone were privy to some joke. They _all_ served to create the face that Anders so adored-the sheer beauty of which made Anders want to weep. Of course, the irony that he had left _one _crimson-haired, green-eyed mage behind only to find himself in the company of _another_ was not lost on him, and it was a factoid that Apollo would occasionally tease him about-in a good natured way, of course.

Anders had always found Alona attractive, and he had even developed a brief infatuation with her during their adolescence when they both went through puberty, but in the end, the brother-sister relationship he had shared with her had simply felt more natural. Besides, Alona had _never_ gotten Anders' blood boiling like Apollo did...his beautiful Apollo who looked so very angelic with the soft moonlight streaming over his face at that moment.

Anders' eyebrows drew together a little when he saw Apollo's brow furrow and a frown form upon his lips. What could his lover be dreaming about? A small but nevertheless distressed moan escaped Apollo's lips, and Anders wondered if he should awaken his lover or if Apollo would sort it out himself.

Apollo stiffened. "No...no...no!" His hands, which had been until that moment in a relaxed position by his head, now seemed to struggle against invisible bonds as the rest of his body thrashed frantically. "No!"

"Love...Apollo... " Anders spoke in a gentle voice. "Apollo, wake up."

"No! No! No, please...no! NO!" Apollo's thrashing ceased and he sat bolt upright in bed before throwing an arm out in front of him. "NOOOOOO!" A massive fireball shot from his palming left a gigantic scorch make on the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Anders' heart leapt into his throat, and he hurriedly straddled Apollo's lap while grabbing a hold of his wrists to try and prevent any more damage. "Apollo, wake up," he said firmly while giving his lover a small shake. "Wake up."

Apollo's eyes snapped open and he stared wildly about the room before his gaze finally focused upon the handsome face in front of him...that beloved, scruffy face that always filled his heart with warmth. Without saying a word, Apollo threw his powerful arms around Anders and all but crushed the smaller man to him with a sob.

"Apollo?" Anders managed after a small grunt. Mage though he was, Apollo's tall, strong body had been honed by years of manual labor and working on the small family farm back in Lothering. A weakling, he was _not_. "Apollo, my love? Are you-" His words were cut off when his lips were suddenly claimed in a frantic kiss. He could taste the salt of Apollo's tears, and he was powerless to do anything but kiss his lover in return and allow him to push him down onto his back.

Breaking the kiss, Apollo buried his face in the crook of Anders' neck, and wept hysterically.

Still breathless from the kiss, Anders could do little else but wrap his arms around Apollo and cradle him while blinking bemusedly. His lover was no stranger to bad dreams...neither of them were, actually, but Anders had _never_ seen Apollo this unhinged. Nightmares about Bethany, his mother, or even Lyssa left him and depressed to be sure, but _never_ terrified. Perhaps those particular nightmares were getting worse. Apollo had barely slept the entire week after his mother's death for fear of seeing her face...perhaps he was relapsing.

"My love?" Anders asked gently while stroking his beloved's hair. "Apollo?" He brushed a kiss to the top of the larger man's head. "Was it your mother?" he asked softly. A wordless head shake was his only answer. "Your sister? Lyssa?" Another wordless head shake. "Talking about it might help," he urged gently while slowly rubbing Apollo's back.

"No talking," Apollo sobbed. "Talking will make it real."

Anders nuzzled Apollo's hair before slowly shifting and pushing himself up into a seated position. No easy feat with the full weight of Apollo's strong body on top of him. "Some tea will help," he said with a gentle smile as he continued to slowly stroke Apollo's hair. "Would you like some tea, love?"

Apollo shakily nodded his head.

"Alright, I'll go make some," Anders said with a final stroke of Apollo's hair before shifting out of his lover's embrace to climb off the bed in search of his trousers. His actions were halted when Apollo suddenly grabbed his wrist and sat up with wide, terrified eyes. "Love?"

"Don't..." Apollo protested frantically. "Don't go. Don't leave me...please don't leave me! Please don't go!" he sobbed as fresh tears streamed down his face. "Don't leave me!"

Anders was genuinely unnerved by the deep level of fear In Apollo's eyes. "That must've been some nightmare, sweetheart," he murmured while sitting on the edge of the bed. "Well, then...if you want tea, you'll simply have to come with me," he said while fixing a smile to his face in attempts to calm his beloved.

"No tea," Apollo replied with a shake of his head before shifting closer to Anders and wrapping his arms around his was it-practically curling his entire body around him as he rested his head on his lap.

Anders sighed softly. "Sweetheart, simply covering in the dark won't help you," he said while resting his stroking of Apollo's hair. Either come with me to the kitchen, or tell me about your nightmare," he urged gently.

Apollo was silent for several moments before finally working up the nerve to speak. "The Templars came...we were overpowered and our power nullified," he began softly. "They took us to the Gallows...they chained me to a wall with their magic-negating shackles while they bound _you _down on a table..." His arms tightened around Anders. "They got the Brand..." His body began trembling. "They made me watch...while they branded you...they made me _watch_!" He began sobbing anew. "I was screaming and begging for them to stop...to take _me_ instead of you, and they simply laughed. They _laughed_! They _laughed _as they forced me to _watch _you become Tranquil...the more I struggled and screamed, the more they laughed."

"I see..." Anders murmured. Tranquility was something they _both_ feared, but this was the first time that fear had _truly _permeated the warmth and security of their home like this.

"They made me _watch_," Apollo sobbed hysterically. "They _made _me _watch_...and I was powerless to do anything else. Even _now,_ I can still hear you screaming in pain as they pressed that red-hot brand into your skin...and they _laughed _at your pain...!"

Anders' heart bled, but he maintained an air of calm for his terrified beloved. So many were the times Apollo had comforted him...had been strong for _him_ after a nightmare. Now it was Anders' turn. "Apollo...my sweet, beautiful Apollo, my love..._look_ at me." Anders' hands were gentle as they framed his trembling lover's face so their gazes would meet. "Look at me...and see my face. Hear my voice..." He moved his hands down in favor of wrapping his arms around Apollo and cradling his quaking body against his own. "Feel my arms around you," he murmured while nuzzling into Apollo's scarlet hair. "Feel the warmth of my body against yours and _know_ that I am here. I am right _here_ with you." His lips found Apollo's and claimed them in a slow, tender kiss. "No one has taken me away from you," he murmured against those perfectly formed lips once the kiss broke.

"But..." Apollo protested weakly.

"It was only a dream," Anders soothed. "That's all it was, beloved...it was only a nightmare. It can't hurt you. It can't hurt _us_."

Apollo was silent for several moments as he slowly pushed himself up into a seated position and simply regarded Anders-his eyes still raw and red from crying. Then, he squared his jaw and placed his hands upon his lover's shoulders. "Know _this_, Anders...so long as there is life within me, I _will_ fight for you. I _will_ protect you. _Any_ Templar who would _dare _so much as _look_ at you in the wrong way _will _die. They will _not_ take you from me. _No one_ will. Believe me when I say this, Anders...I _will_ burn this city to the ground if it means keeping you safe from the Templars."

Anders could not help the shiver that raced through him at Apollo's declaration. He could _feel_ the weighty truth behind it and _knew_ that it was not simply a series of words. Apollo _truly _meant them. Yet, for all the truth behind those words, Anders could not help but wonder if they would _truly _hold even in the bitter end when Apollo was backed into a corner. "You shouldn't say things like that, love," he said softly.

"I meant _every_ word," Apollo said darkly as he pulled Anders onto his lap and held him tightly whole resting his forehead against his. "I meant every, _single_ word," he growled before claiming Anders' lips in a deep, fervent kiss.

Anders moaned softly into the kiss and slid his arms around Apollo's neck. "My love..." he purred against his lover's lips once the kiss broke.

"I love you, Anders," Apollo murmured before kissing his beloved again. "There is _nothing _I wouldn't do for you."

"Be careful what you offer..." Anders whispered huskily while slowly pushing Apollo down onto his back and settling on top of him.

"I don't have to be careful," Apollo whispered as he gazed up into Anders' warm eyes-his hands slowly caressing their way up his back before tangling gently into his golden hair. "I'm _yours_...everything I am able to give you is yours for the taking...my body, my fortune, my home, my love, my world possessions...my unwavering devotion...it's _all_ yours."

Anders gazed down at Apollo. "Homes and possessions hold no meaning if we are ever to be fugitives on the run, Apollo," he murmured matter-of-factly. "All I want...all I _need_ is_ you_ and your love."

"You have them both in abundance," Apollo whispered fervently before leaning up and kissing his lover. "And you will continue to have them until my dying day." he was silenced with a deep kiss.

"No more talk of dying," Anders whispered before sliding off Apollo and nestling into him once his lover had turned onto his side-tucking his head under Apollo's chin as his legs became tangled with his. "Let's just hold each other, and pretend for the rest of the night that _nothing_ exists outside of this room."

"Yes…yes, that's a good idea," Apollo murmured before he wrapped his arms tightly around Anders and held him close while burying his face into his soft hair so he could breathe in his scent. His lover smelled of herbs and the wildness of magic coupled with his own masculine musk, and Apollo _knew _he could not live without it.

He could _not _live without _Anders._

Come what may…no matter how much blood would have to be spilt, Apollo would _never _let Anders be taken from him.

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**A/N:** If you're a fan of Dragon Age as well as of my writing, _please_ check out my newly-published novel, _Dragon Guardian: Fire_, the first novel in my Dragon Guardian series. The link for the website can be found on my profile page!


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